Tips to increase the efficiency of any trucking business

In today's world, every industry in India right from food & drug to manufacturing & waste management is dependent on the trucking industry. If the trucking business comes to a halt, all other sectors will be affected within no time. Therefore it is important for a trucking industry to maintain its efficiency, better yet increase it gradually, in order to serve better to the demand.

Importance of efficiency in a business

Efficiency is the elementary reduction in the amount of misspent resources used for the final output. In simple words, efficiency is the ability to accomplish a task with minimum wastage of time, efforts and resources while yielding maximum returns. In order to keep up with the demand and to stay ahead in the competition, your business needs to be efficient in many ways than one.

Current Scenario

The trucking industry is a sector comprising of companies offering shipping services. A majority of domestic revenue is generated by this industry and is an indicator of the overall Indian economy. It is a very competitive business because the clients have a wide range of options. Therefore these companies strive to build a close relationship with their clients in order to retain them and preserve their loyalty. Not only providing the best services but also their efficiency and effectiveness plays an important role for the business as the client can get an alternative shipper very easily.

Ideal Scenario

As we have seen above, the trucking industry right now is facing many challenges. To overcome such challenges an ideal trucking business must be well-organised and should adopt easy to use parameters so that the end to end operations function smoothly and productivity is maintained, which can help in new-client acquisition. Companies should keep track of factors which affect the efficiency of a project and execute strategies accordingly. Improvisation in the existing working model should be performed as to rectify errors and new plans for development should be executed at the earliest.

How can you achieve it?

Manual analysis of all such parameters involves a lot of valuable time and human efforts which if were to be used efficiently could be beneficial in execution of corrections. Therefore, with an AI automated system the analysis is more reliable and efficient.

Here are some basic yet important tips which needs to be considered.

I) Fleet Management:

Fleet management is the process of managing all your vehicles and assets information. The aim of fleet management is to enhance the life cycle of commercial vehicles while reducing the risk associated, and increase overall productivity by a systematic plan of action.

Fleet Management software gives all the relevant information about all the parameters affecting performance of the fleet. It typically includes detailed data of:

• Vehicle & equipment
• Maintenance & repairs
• Drivers and associated vehicles
• Vehicle tracking reports
• Management of fuel expenses
• Route Optimisation attributes

II) Digital Space for documents:

Maintaining a huge number of paper documents brings along the risk of misplacing or tampering them. Additionally, it is a lengthy process to record such documents, consumes a huge storage space, also maintenance and protection from intangible factors are a challenge. Furthermore retrieving a required back dated document at any given moment is difficult, resulting in increased amount of time needed.

With the help of a digital platform, it becomes easier to get bills as well as record them for future references. It also eliminates the employee's time of collecting and filing in a register. One doesn't need to carry any physical paperwork as you can access it from anywhere at any time with a single click. This platform helps in eradicating the workload and paperwork procedure and enhances the smooth functioning of the supply chain.

III) E-Invoice & E-POD:

E-invoicing is a system in which B2B invoices are electronically authenticated by GSTN. E-invoice software helps in better accounts handling, increases efficiency and simultaneously saves a lot of time and efforts.

Proof of Delivery (POD) is a paper proof that the receiver has received the consignment sent by the sender. In today's digital world ePOD is used because it eases the process and is traceable remotely. Additionally, ePOD software helps optimise workforce productivity, allows real-time visibility, and eliminates the paperwork at the backend completely.

IV) E-Way bill:

The Electronic Way Bill is mandatory for the movement of goods by any registered GST firm or business. Any shipment/consignment of more than INR 50,000 requires an e-way bill to be generated. A unique E-way bill number is assigned to every new bill generated which can be accessed by the parties involved in the transportation such as the supplier, recipient, and the transporter.

With the help of an e-way bill software, it becomes easy to manage all the bills, and reconciliation between e-way bills and ePODs can be done in less time.

V) Establish metrics to track your performance:

Measuring your performance through metrics gives you detailed insights about your trucking business which when considered while planning the strategy and executed decorously may lead to productivity improvement and cost savings. Truck maintenance is one of the major aspects that

affects the efficiency of your business. An untimely breakdown of the vehicle can be a reason for incompetence in operations, late deliveries and can lead to an additional redundant cost. Using these metrics, you can find areas for improvements such as optimisation of route and fuel; supply chain, to also increase the speed of goods transportation; monitor vehicle performance and know when your vehicle is due for maintenance.

Here we have seen 5 of the many features which are important in order to increase proficiency in trucking business. Having a software in which all these attributes are included can be beneficial to your business as you can manage everything right from creating new bookings to managing the whole accounts.

We at CargoFL help you in managing a pool of commercial vehicles that is a challenge of all times. We provide a sophisticated database that allows you to record the key attributes that may help in increasing productivity and efficiency. With our softwares, you can generate E-way bills for both part A and part B easily as well as reconciliation between generated e-way bills with LRs is made easy. CargoFL brings to you acomplete end-to-end artificial intelligence driven solution to cater to all your logistics and supply chain needs along with giving you timely reports and analytics of the whole process on a single & easy dashboard where it all comes down to one single click!